Lost in a legal maze

Through the stories of eleven asylum seekers, our video series "Lost in a legal maze" aims to reveal the difficulties of navigating a legal system designed to fail them. In these five-minute episodes, filmed in Greece in November 2023, eleven refugees in different stages of their asylum procedures share on camera their own legal journey – from pushbacks to unjustified rejections to retroactive laws.

Asylum systems in Europe, constantly revised, have become increasingly complex and have turned into a re-traumatising experience for many. Access to international protection is being heavily obstructed by EU and member-states’ migration policies severely affecting people’s mental stability, health, and safety. This Europe-wide strategy has a purpose: to reduce the number of refugees arriving in the continent and to keep those already here out of sight, often in isolated detention sites at the EU’s external borders. These methods will be exacerbated with the implementation of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum recently adopted by the EU institutions.

Independence and dignity begin with the possession of legal documents. Without them, people on the move are stuck in a limbo, lost in a legal maze, deprived of access to health care, work and education.

Europe must live up to its commitments to provide protection and guarantee the respect of human rights for all. Europe must ensure that people in danger can ask for international protection without risking their lives.

• A screening of the entire series and a Q&A session with the producers and the director will take place on Monday, 13 May 2024, at 19:30, at the Olympion Cinema, at Pavlos Zannas Hall, Thessaloniki.
• The videos will be screened with English and Greek subtitles.
• The event will be held in English with the possibility of Greek simultaneous translation during the discussion.
• Free entrance. Due to limited seats, there is the possibility to reserve a ticket here.

Production: Heinrich Böll Foundation – Thessaloniki Office

In collaboration with: Equal Legal Aid

Director: Sideris Nanoudis – Homo Ludens Productions

Monday, 13 May 2024, 19:30

Olympion Cinema, Pavlos Zannas Hall, Thessaloniki (10 Aristotelous sq.)